Remotely controlled surgical instruments (including both manual laparoscopic and computer-assisted teleoperated instruments) are often used in minimally invasive medical procedures. During medical procedures, such surgical instruments may be inserted within the body of a patient to perform medical procedures. During a medical procedure, surgical instruments may be exposed to various biomaterials, including fluids, tissues, and other materials, which can become lodged, for example, in the various components of the surgical instrument.
When it is desired to reuse a surgical instrument, or one or more components of a surgical instrument, it may be desirable to reprocess the instrument, or the one or more components of the instrument, in a manner that effectively cleans all surfaces of the instrument, including interior components capable of being exposed to the biomaterials, and enables the instrument or components thereof to be reused safely.
A technician may be tasked with manually reprocessing the instrument. For example, the technician can operate the surgical instrument, such as by manually rotating input disks of the surgical instrument, while subjecting the instrument to a fluid spray or brushing process. The manual operation of the surgical instrument causes one or more parts of the instrument, e.g., an end effector thereof, to move, thereby allowing the fluid spray and/or brush to reach different parts of the instrument for effective cleaning.
Various reprocessing systems and methods rely on flushing an interior of the instrument and spraying an exterior of the instrument using water or a water-based detergent solution. Continued improvement in such reprocessing procedures and systems is desirable to provide fewer manual steps while achieving a thorough cleaning of the instrument.